Bible Strands
2 John 1:11
Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — John writes to his audience to warn against welcoming false teachers, placing this command directly after the instruction to refuse them entry. He issues this warning to prevent spiritual contamination within the community.
The words — The key terms are κοινωνεῖ (koinōnei), meaning "shares in" or "partakes," and ἔργοις (ergois), meaning "works" or "deeds." Together they form the literal sense that greeting a false teacher makes one a participant in his evil actions.
The thread — This principle of avoiding fellowship with sinful practices appears in 1 Timothy 5:22 regarding laying on of hands, Ephesians 5:11 regarding the fruitless deeds of darkness, and Psalms 50:18 regarding befriending thieves and adulterers. Each passage warns that association with wickedness implicates the observer in its guilt.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers refuse to extend hospitality or recognition to those who reject apostolic teaching. It requires active separation to avoid complicity in their spiritual error.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 5:22 Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
- Ephesians 5:11 Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- Psalms 50:18 When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.
- Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.